Recently in FOOD & ENTERTAINING Category

Think again. 

It doesn't matter if it is a birthday party for a group of 5 year olds or a sophisticated cocktail party for the trendy set, it doesn't just happen.

To have a great party to you need a check list to make sure that all the little things are done so you don't have to worry and can enjoy yourself along with your guest.

What better way to satisfy someones craving for chocolate than to give them a stash of "emergency" chocolate bars.

These would make great stocking stuffers or inexpensive gifts for co-workers.

It is a great fast and easy last minute gift to make.

(Add these printable tags to them so they know what they are getting.)

But I only see them in our neighborhood at Halloween time and I always snap them up.

I find that they are perfect for making little s'more bags for invitations to cook outs, BBQ's and get together for the children.

If you need to defrost meat in a hurry there is an old trick that cooks like to use that is fast and safe. 

Pancakes are made from mix, mash potatoes from dried flakes and cookies are cut from plastic tubes of dough.  

When women set off to the work force in droves in the 70's a market opened up to feed on their guilt that they were not being good mother's or wives and that could all be solved by convenience foods. This was the first generation of women who struggled to do it all. 

Advertisers continually harp on us that cooking from scratch is not only hard, but time consuming and ridiculous to try.

Isn't it time for you to find out that cooking from scratch can be easy, fast and cheap?

When your birthday person asks for a pie, donuts, or ice cream for their treat then it can be a challenge to incorporate the candles into the festivities.

One trick that I have always liked to do is place the candles on  the serving dish that the treat is going to be presented on.

It is easy to do but you have to follow some guidelines.

Regular paper will look nice but it doesn't have that sheen to it. Wrapping paper that is glossy rarely comes in white.

Roses and chocolate, aren't they both the very epitome of romance? How about the two of them together, chocolate roses? While these look as dainty as porcelain they are very easy to make.

I always make way too much food when I have the family over (especially the sweets) and they are always delighted to take some home with them. 

In professional kitchens no scrap goes unused, their bottom line depends on it and they will make little novelty weave cookies from these scraps. 

Incredibly easy to do they have a simple elegance to them that belies their origins as left overs. Add a sprinkling of icing sugar and it looks like a master piece.

Of course there is a secret - well guarded on at that. It has absolutely nothing to do with the ingredients that you bake the cake with. It all has to do with what you do latter.

Even when money is tight you can find ways to indulge yourself and while dining out at restaurants can be a wonderful experience it can also shatter a budget.

Don't deprive yourself of wonderful dinners because you can't afford to go out but learn to do them at home at a fraction of the price.

No one can argue that part of living well means eating well. Food is a necessity but it can also be a creative joy or, if handled poorly, a financial hardship. It does not take a millionaire's  salary to eat well but it does take effort, organization, knowledge and a lot of really amazing recipes.

The most wonderful thing about people is that there are no two in the world that have the exact same tastes, you might think beets are fabulous while your spouse pales at the very sight of them. If there was a generic recipe book that everyone could agree on then there wouldn't be millions of websites and blog posts out there dealing with food. You and your families tastes are unique and diverse so how do you feed them great tasting, healthy dishes while keeping your budget firmly in check? 

Caterers and restaurants are masters about restyling simple plate ware and glass ware to make them seem unique and unusual. 

Magazines might be showing you the latest and greatest tableware year after year but you don't need cupboards full of fancy stuff to make your food look great. Use what you have and re-style it.

Here is one glass and 10 styling secrets that you can use.